Sunday, August 26, 2012

The Bedspread Shop's Kerry Whitaker reveals her Trade Secrets in the bedroom and why she still courts the trusted, ever faithful valance.

What can't you live without on YOUR bed?

C o m f o r t . . .

Electric blanket: My side of the bed only, cold nights only, switched off once there. Gorgeous goosedown mattress topper: This princess has looked for the pea but can't find it under this sumptuous layer.Egyptian cotton sheets:The REAL deal not the copies that fly in over Egypt on their way from China. Crisp fresh soft delicious, white.

Goose down pillows: Different fill heights for if I need to raise my spinning head.

Where in the world do you like to source bedding?

Europe.In two weeks I leave for the textiles fair in Paris and then go on to Spain.
We usually also go to Portugal. They are all such horrible destinations
that sometimes I feel sorry for myself...(So do we Kerry, really)

Favourite product ever sourced?

The German batiste quilt. These quilts are amazingly light. When I make my bed in the morning I lift my huge super king quilt with a flick of my wrists and the quilt lifts, hovers in the air and then floats down on the bed like a beautiful cloud. Love it.

Styling tip for a sensational looking bedGet the valance right.A bed is going to be poorly dressed wearing the wrong shoes!

Advice for anyone wanting to get into the industry?

Find a niche that you love. Get the detail right and then make sure that you know how to market to your market. This is a very friendly industry. Many people will want you to succeed and will be very prepared to share their experience and expertise with you.

If you are looking for gorgeous bedlinen and you live in Melbourne you must visit The Bedspread Shopor simply order online.

Ask Kerry about Bianca Lorenne (image above) a beautiful range of NZ fine linens available at her Malvern shop.

Recently I have been engrossed in the HBO series Game of Thrones. I have ploughed my way through the first chilly season and according to Lord Snow, "the winter is coming". I'm no weather professor but if a walking furry mound of bearskin is proclaiming the onset of winter...I'm thinking Winterfelt makes Olinda look like the Sunshine coast and I'm never complaining about the cold again!

Winter gardens are majestic and graphic, I love the sleek surfaces, the naked twisting vines and the seasonal block colours. I like it even better when I'm on the inside looking out with a mug of Irish tea...but mostly I'm beating a brisk, weary path around the neighbourhood. I
was walking very briskly last week, camera in hand as we had our first
snowfall. A decent fluttering, not quite enough to get out the
waffle walkers but it was very pretty and white...aawwwggh

I'm
happy to proclaim "the spring is coming" and the garden in Olinda is covered in translucent little green soldiers, eager to bloom into Daffs
and Jonquils while platoons of purple bulbs spring up underfoot like a David Attenborough time-lapse sequence. Can't wait to turn off the central heating and get out into the garden.